Auto response on autopilot?

By Mark Mooney

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug — Mark Twain

Great businesses, no matter what type, share one common trait: great communication. Big or small, lots of folks or just a few, great communication plays an important role in business.

Let’s look at all that you communicate to folks who reach out to you through your dealership’s website. There’s a very good chance you have some type of auto response that tells those inquiring potential clients that someone from the dealership will be getting back to them. And in all probability your website provider has pre-loaded a plethora of generic responses to delight inquiring minds. You can pick one that suits your fancy, or let whatever your provider has set to go out automatically, go out. And therein lies the rub: What’s being communicated? What’s being said?

I’ve been in many dealerships where the folks in them didn’t even know there was automatic messaging going out to client inquires. How do you tell folks what you want to tell them, if you don’t know what you’re saying to them in the first place?

If perhaps you’re saying “uh-oh” right about now, thinking about what’s going out to all those potential clients that you didn’t know about, rest assured it’s probably something like, “Thanks for the inquiry.” A response that makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over.

During dealer visits I’ll ask someone in the sales department to send out a few random inquiries. Let’s send one to your own dealership and to a few other dealers and see what we get back. When they get back from others the same auto responses that their own dealership has been sending out, the point has been made. How do you set your dealership apart from others, when you read like all the rest?

When you do (if you do) answer those online inquires, is the grammar correct? How’s the spelling? Do your folks know what to say and what message to convey? Are they careful with the words and phrases they use so nothing can be misinterpreted? Do your folks inform clearly and communicate with purpose? Do they focus on what you can’t do, or what you can do?

Right or wrong, the way you communicate influences how folks perceive your dealership. You should be able to answer all these questions and know clearly what your auto response is. It should be what you want to communicate and say, not some preprogrammed response that does nothing to set you apart from the rest.

What’s being communicated and what’s being said? Perhaps it’s time to find out ...

Have a great June, everybody... MM

Mark Mooney is the principal of Mark Mooney Powersports Consulting, a Santa Cruz, California, company that works with OEMs and powersports dealers to strengthen dealership performance. Mark is a nationally known speaker and teacher that works with dealers throughout the United States. Mark Mooney Powersports Consulting is “empowering performance and strengthening profitability through practical solutions.”